Tasty recipes from chef Ronit Penso's kitchen

Sephardic Tomatoes-Peppers Sauce with Fried Eggplants

Tomatoes-peppers sauce, or “Salata Kocha” (i.e. “cooked salad”), as it is known in Ladino, is a condiment that can be found in any Sephardic household at any given time. The sauce is cooked until it has almost jam-like texture and is used for just about anything: as a side for roasted beef or chicken, or fried fish dishes, with pastries such as Boyos and Burekitas, as a spread for sandwiches, as a base for cooking eggs…you get the picture!
In the following recipe, the sauce is added to fried eggplant slices. Here, again, the uses are numerous – serve them at room temperature as an appetizer with thick yogurt or cheese, as a side dish for all of the above mentioned foods, in sandwiches with cold cuts – or in any other way you choose.

Notes:
* As you can see from the photos, the peppers I’ve used are pale green with thin skin (sometimes sold as “gypsy peppers”). Do your best to find them, as they are the only ones suitable for this sauce.
* As for the tomatoes, the best type would be Roma tomatoes. Other types will also work, but may need longer cooking time.
* The sauce is rustic, so the tomatoes are not peeled. If you prefer a more delicate sauce, you can remove the skins before cooking, as shownHERE.
* Sprinkling the eggplants with salt for a few hours, makes them absorb minimal amount of oil while frying. Don’t skip this step, or you’ll end up with soggy and oily eggplants.
* For best results, top the fried eggplants with the sauce while still warm.
* The sauce will keep, in an airtight container in the fridge, for 7-10 days. The eggplants – for about 3 days.
* For more information about Sephardic origins, check under THIS post.

1. The eggplants: with a serrated knife, remove the ends and cut the eggplant into medium thick slices. Place the slices on a work surface and sprinkle a bit of salt on both sides. Place in a colander and let the eggplants “sweat” for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight. When ready to fry, pat dry and squeeze the slices gently with paper towels.
2. Preheat oil for shallow frying in a large pan over medium-high heat. Fry the slices until golden on both sides. Place on paper towels, to absorb extra oil.
3. The tomatoes-peppers sauce: preheat the oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and jalapeno and fry for 30 seconds. Add the green peppers, mix and fry for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, salt and pepper. Mix and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for about 40 minutes, mixing occasionally, until the tomatoes break down, the peppers are soft and most of the liquids evaporated. The consistency should be like a thick jam. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
4. Arrange the fried eggplant on a serving plate, add a spoonful of warm tomatoes-peppers sauce on each fried slice. Serve at room temperature.

When peppers are in season – like NOW! – I make this combination of peppers/tomatoes a lot, usually adding mushrooms and onions. I keep a pile of it in the fridge, and then (like tonight), I can slap together a pizza with nearly no effort at all! The crust is rising in the bread machine at this very moment!

Salting the eggplant makes all the difference in the world. I seldom keep them in nice slices like that, opting instead to really squeeze the heck out of the salted slices, and then fry the pieces with other veggies as you show. The brown “juice” that comes out is very bitter, and if you have chapped hands or a cut on your hands, you will know exactly where it hurts!

Ronit, it’s interesting for me to see something I never saw in my Sephardic mother-in-law’s kitchen. Is this similar to the sauce for huevos con tomat? I love the combination of tomatoes and eggs.
By the way, I love your photography. Everything always looks so delicious!!

Absolutely mouth-watering. I just made salsa verde this weekend for the 5th or 6th time since you posted the recipe… I took some photos this time, maybe I will post them. This is another one of your recipes that is making my must-make list. Thank you!

Thank you Annika, I’m so glad to know you’ve enjoyed the salsa verde recipe, and that you like this recipe as well. Such tasty sauces in the fridge make it easier to prepare tasty foods in no time! I’ll be happy to see your post. 🙂

You’re welcome! You are right, having such sauces in the fridge are a lifesaver. I have some salsa verde and pico de gallo left over from the weekend which I will pair with some Indian-spiced fish for tonight’s dinner.

Thank you Marta, I’m very glad to learn that.
It makes perfect sense, as Sephardic culture and food started in Spain. Ladino, the language Sephardic people speak, is actually old Spanish.
Unfortunately, I don’t speak it fluently, but I understand a lot of it, and some of your comment too. 🙂

Thank you Dolly, I’m glad you’ve found the recipe interesting.
Interesting to learn about other names for these peppers.
Matbucha is delicious, but it is different in that it contains far more spices, and is spicier.
חג שמח to you too! 🙂

Looks fabulous! The peppers look familiar, I think I’ve seen them in the farmers market here in TN. I have lots of Roma tomatoes in the freezer, and eggplant in the fridge, so I’ll try it this weekend. I might even use it for snacking when we watch the election returns next week.